Allison Mcginnis does not consider herself to be a twitcher or a chaser. These are the enthusiastic, some might say obsessive, bird watchers that keep a life list of every species they’ve ever seen and often travel to far-flung destinations to catalogue new birds. After a short conversation with Mcginnis, however, it is clear that she loves birds. (Side note: If you love drama, read-up on the controversy between Peter Kaestner, a well-known and highly respected birder, and Jason Mann, an obscure bird-nobody, who both logged their 10,000th birds in February 2024.)
“My family actually lived in a houseboat on the St. Croix River when I was young,” Mcginnis says, “so while I was growing up, the river was my playground.” Later in life, her love of nature and wildlife led Mcginnis to jobs at Carpenter Nature Center, Maplewood Nature Center, and Belwin Conservancy. She also founded and operated a wildlife rehabilitation center in Sommerset, Wisconsin for a decade.
“When Minnesota and Wisconsin began their trumpeter swan recovery programs back in the 1980’s, I worked with the Wisconsin DNR to raise two flocks of swans at our facility that were later released at Crex Meadows,” she explains. The recovery program was a smashing success. From virtually no swans left anywhere in the lower 48 states, there are now an estimated 5000 swans in Wisconsin and more than 50,000 in Minnesota.
More recently, Allison Mcginnis has turned her energy to leading Sustainable Stillwater’s Bird City Stillwater work group. The group recently released a beautifully designed digital bird guide for the Stillwater area that includes nine different recommended birding loops, with options for one-hour walking tours in town, as well as 3-4 hour biking/driving loops that visit nearby parks and trails. The guide was developed in collaboration with St. Paul Audubon and Next Bend Birding Tours & Photography and can be downloaded for free here.
From March 15 through May 31, the Bird City Stillwater initiative is also encouraging businesses and residents to turn off exterior decorative lighting, minimize security lighting, and turn off interior lights on upper floors to avoid drawing birds off-course during their spring migration. The St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers are major migratory corridors, and there are 268 different species of birds that pass through Stillwater every spring. In addition to turning down the lights, people can also add window applications to prevent birds from striking large windows at homes and businesses.
A final action people can take to support birds in our community is to plant native trees, shrubs, and gardens in order to provide food and habitat for birds. By planting native species, local residents can help to ensure a steady-supply of seeds and insects for birds that visit their yards, without having to watch over a bird feeder or buy seeds at a store. A few species to consider planting for birds, include Bur oak, white oak, black cherry, red maple, sugar maple, white pine, and hackberry (trees); chokecherry, wild plum, hawthorn, hazelnut, serviceberry, pagoda dogwood, red-osier dogwood, nannyberry, blackberry, and raspberry (shrubs); and columbine, wild geranium, bloodroot, tall meadow rue, little bluestem, butterfly weed, blazing star, big bluestem, Indian grass, marsh milkweed, joe pye, cardinal flower, blue flag iris, and blue lobelia (flowers).
Ready to get outside and enjoy the birds? Sustainable Stillwater has a number of outdoor and family-friendly events coming up, including birding hikes in April and May, an Eco Fair at Pioneer Park on April 27, and a bird habitat planting party in the Croixwood neighborhood on May 18. Visit www.sustainablestillwatermn.org/upcoming-events to learn more.
East Metro Water 
Angie, Thank you so much! Great job, as usual!AllisonSent from my GalaxyAllison McginnisBird City Stillwater/SSMN, lead coordinator 651 206 6207
LikeLike